Page 8 of Wrong Turn, Right Bear
Expecting to see Chuck round the bend, I took my time putting on my pack and telling the group where we were headed. I patted Theo’s shoulder, hoping his blisters wouldn’t affect the rest of his trip.
“There you are.” Chuck waved and shooed me off. He helped Theo to stand, and we headed out as I glanced behind me until the trees obscured my vision.
The rest of the hike went off smoothly, and I hustled the group back to the hotel. But I couldn’t get away as they wanted photos with me and to talk about other activities they’d booked.
Chuck must have gone home because it was after five and I checked at reception for Theo, but he wasn’t in his room.
Where is he? Maybe he’s lost. My bear was frantic, thinking we’d mislaid him.
I raced back to the car and collected the walkie talkie. Chuck might have forgotten to return his device. “Chuck, come in. Chuck.”
There was no reply.
Shit. My friend was a shifter, so it was unlikely they’d run into any trouble. Unless he was confronted by a mountain lion and his beast had forced a shift. My mind zigged one way and then the other. I imagined Chuck’s beast injured and bleeding out while Theo had freaked at a man turning into a wolf and had run into the undergrowth.
Go back. We have to find him.
I’d need to take my fur and let my bear scent our mate. But on seeing me still on hotel grounds, more clients from the hiking trip cornered me to ask questions about zip lining. They were first-timers and wondered if it was suitable for beginners. I bit my lip because if they’d booked on my website or through a travel agency, they would have read all the information.But people skimmed rather than reading. I knew that.
I took off when there was a break in the conversation, yelling over my shoulder that I’d see them tomorrow. I didn’t give a damn if they thought me rude. My mate might be lost, and I had to find him.
When I was far enough into the trees and far from the path, I flung off my clothes and shifted. My bear picked up my shirt and pants as I didn’t want to appear naked before Theo when I found him. Because Iwasgoing to find him.
But stragglers from other hiking tours were still on the path and if my bear bounded out in front of them, they might do exactly what I assumed Theo had done and run off.
Being in my fur, I couldn’t call him, but my bear’s sense of smell was better than mine. He hid in the undergrowth as humans trod the path back to the hotel until he caught a whiff of Theo’s scent, but it mingled with a wolf’s.
Gods no, my imagination was running through scenarios, each one worse than the previous.
That’s Chuck’s wolf.
Yes, my bear agreed,but there’s a second wolf’s scent, too.
Whose?
My bear didn’t recognize it.
Why had Chuck shifted when he was with a human? If the second wolf was a shifter, it shouldn’t have been a problem? Unless the shifter wasn’t from around here.
The worst-case scenario was looking more likely.
We didn’t pick up the metallic smell of blood, so Theo wasn’t injured. But where was he?
FIVE
THEO
I put my head in my hands, cursing past Theo for not wearing in the damned hiking boots. This afternoon should have been a pleasant hike with a friendly group, led by the guy I was lusting over. While I wouldn’t have had Ash to myself as I did this morning, it would have been kinda nice to observe the man while he wasn’t looking at me.
During the short fifteen minutes we’d been hiking—though I was reduced to hobbling very quickly—I’d snuck glances at him as he pointed to a majestic bird taking off from a treetop or while telling his clients not to pick the mushrooms that lined the path.
Tomorrow I was supposed to be zip lining, and I doubted I could do that with bare feet. But as I observed one foot and then the other, I concluded thatAsh’s grandma was a miracle worker ‘cause they were much better. Not great, but improved.
I felt bad having Chuck come to take me home like I was a naughty boy whose dad had to collect him from school. I was disrupting his day because I couldn’t be assed to do what I was supposed to. Yeah, when I’d signed up on Ash’s website, one instruction was: if you buy new boots, wear them in before you come.
“How are those feet?” Chuck interrupted my thoughts.
“Wearing flip-flops, they don’t really bother me though my feet are sweaty and slippery.” I sat on a rock and inspected them again.
